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National Roundtable

  • Rome
    • 18 March 2015
     
     

    Innovation and market trends in a knowledge society

      Internet, an ongoing revolution. With its many regulatory questions still unanswered (from fiscal to privacy, from copyright to net-neutrality), the call to change business models are of an economic order. For some, it’s the era of the fifth technological revolution which won’t only effect how industry is run, but also how States are run. With this in mind, it could also become a unique opportunity to win decisive battles for the planet such as pollution and poverty.

    • Rome
      • 28 October 2015
       
       

      Institutions, democracy and lobbies

        The issue of the representation of special interests is currently taking on particular importance within the Italian political system: this is occurring as a result of political parties’ declining monopoly over the function they used to have of intermediating interests, and due to the emergence of the governance paradigm more open to identifying a role for the stakeholders within the process of public decision-making.

      • Milan
        • 8 June 2015
         
         

        From obstacle to opportunity: how European institutions can help businesses and improve the job market

          We need a new way of narrating Europe. We need it above all to counter the populist drift that has made anti-Europeanism its motto.  Data provided by the Eurobarometer, the instrument measuring the belief of European citizens in the idea of Europe, shows that the vision of the founding fathers is in free fall. In 2008, 75% of Italian citizens were strongly convinced that the European project was a good thing, while today there is a risk that this percentage will drop below 50%.

        • Milan
          • 3 November 2014
           
           

          How important is big data for business and society?

            320 times greater than the store of knowledge kept in the legendary Library of Alexandria, and representing a mass of data which, if stored on DVDs stacked on top of each other, would cover five times the distance from the Earth to the Moon and back again: it was in these terms that participants at this national roundtable described the wealth of knowledge that forms the preserve of contemporary man, and which, evocative analogies aside, comprises the extraordinary body of information commonly known as big data.

          • Rome
            • 16 April 2014
             
             

            Preventing, insuring and managing natural disasters

              Discussions at this National Roundtable session opened with the observation that, due to its natural characteristics and anthropological factors, Italy may be considered as being exposed to a high level of disaster risk. As a preliminary step towards putting the phenomenon in context, the participants felt it useful to cite a number of statistics. Since 1900, earthquakes have caused around 160,000 deaths in Italy, while since the Second World War alone, there have been 1,061 lethal landslides, and at least 672 fatal floods.

            • Rome
              • 10 July 2014
               
               

              The “abuse of rights” in public finance administration and tax law

                Discussions at this National Roundtable commenced with a reference to the old cartographic practice of marking unknown and dangerous lands with the expression “Hic sunt leones”. It was suggested that, today, the same could be done if charting a hypothetical map of business taxation in Italy: an insidious terra incognita in which that peculiar invention of the judiciary known as “abuse of rights” generates confusion and uncertainty.

              • Rome
                • 24 September 2014
                 
                 

                Reforming Italy’s public administration to spur competitiveness

                  The participants at this National Roundtable viewed as telling that in the nigh-on seventy-year history of the Italian Republic, there have been several instances of eminent figures such as Guido Carli expressing grave concerns regarding the state of the country’s public administration. Today, after a protracted period characterized by a lack of continuity in the political and governmental helmsmanship of the state apparatus, the prevailing sense is that of an institutional and procedural milieu bereft of political leadership.

                • Milan
                  • 20 January 2014
                   
                   

                  “Mediacracy”: how media and politics interact

                    The participants at this national roundtable noted that, since its very beginnings, the story of the media has been interwoven with power (and the ability to call it to account). This was the case of the first gazettes to emerge in the seventeenth century in various European cities, though it was felt that other crucial milestones on this journey are also worth remembering, such as Voltaire’s “Treatise on Tolerance“, which, through an indictment not at all far removed from that of modern media campaigns, achieved important results for eighteenth-century French society.

                  • Milan
                    • 24 November 2014
                     
                     

                    Economic crises in a globalized world: new ways to finance businesses

                      Setting the backdrop for discussions at this National Roundtable session were the latest global liquidity indicators produced by the Bank for International Settlements, according to which credit at a global level is in abundant supply, risk appetite is strengthening, and credit conditions are loosening. This, again pursuant to the Bank for International Settlements, is favoring the growth of debt issuance and loans over bank-intermediated cross-border funding. The private equity sector has also been picking up since 2013.

                    • Roma
                      • 22 January 2014
                       
                       

                      Suggestions for Italy’s spending review

                        This national roundtable discussion got underway with the observation that at the heart of Italy’s spending review is the idea of reducing expenditure for the purpose of rebalancing public finances or achieving other priority objectives such as alleviating the tax burden – a concept which, in reality, is not entirely new in Italy. Indeed, soon after the unification of the Kingdom of Italy, the Historical Right (to which Sella belonged) was engaged in a process of rationalizing expenditure with a view to balancing the budget.

                      • Milan
                        • 3 February 2014
                         
                         

                        Artists and artisans: the excellence of “Made in Italy”

                          The debate at this national roundtable got underway with the observation that tapping into knowledge that has always existed in Italy to revive Italian arts and crafts industries is a key priority for the country given that, in the current difficult climate, they could serve as important drivers of economic development and growth. It was noted that there is a peculiar symbiosis in Italy between the manufacturing industry and arts and crafts.

                        • Rome
                          • 19 March 2014
                           
                           

                          Of virtue and necessity: privatization to spur growth in Italy

                            Proceedings at this national roundtable got underway with participants observing that Italy periodically looks to privatization as a means to restoring the fragile fortunes of its public finances. Yet while the increasingly straitened condition of these finances is what gives rise, from time to time, to the need to engage in such sell-offs, privatization cannot and should not merely entail a quick grab for cash. Indeed, the roundtable saw a number of different aspects of privatization discussed.

                          • Rome
                            • 21 May 2014
                             
                             

                            How the audiovisual industry can stimulate economic and cultural growth in Europe

                              Conservation vs. change, protection vs. openness, and domestic focus vs. global reach: these juxtapositions prompted participants at this national roundtable to highlight that a cursory examination of the public debate over the prospects of the Italian audiovisual industry would seem to reflect – if not reduce it to – a simplistic dichotomy between old and new market players.

                            • Milan
                              • 9 June 2014
                               
                               

                              The Italian luxury goods industry: cultural and manufacturing aspects

                                The participants at this national roundtable noted, by way of opening premise, that the luxury and high-end markets represent a worldwide business worth 730 billion dollars. The sub-segment of personal luxury goods – valued at 230 billion dollars – sees Italy and France as joint market leaders, each having a share worth more than 50 billion dollars.

                              • Milan
                                • 20 October 2014
                                 
                                 

                                Helping Italian SMEs compete on global markets

                                  Kick-starting this national roundtable event was the observation that the question of the competitiveness of Italian firms in global markets can be summed up in the indisputable if somewhat simplified proposition that while exports alone are not enough to get by on, they are nevertheless vital for survival. It was noted that the longstanding issue of the internationalization of Italian SMEs has been a subject of public debate for decades, in parallel with the escalation of globalization and the technological revolution.

                                • Milan
                                  • 17 June 2013
                                   
                                   

                                  E‐commerce, security, distribution channels: opportunities and challenges for businesses and consumers

                                    At this national roundtable discussion, it was observed that the global phenomenon known as e-commerce is bringing about a paradigm shift in distribution models for products and services. In a scenario of constantly increasing online sales, growth in this sector seems unlikely to slow down, thanks also to the spread of new technologies – such as smartphones and tablets – that are making the consumer experience even more effortless. Globally, the number of cell phones far exceeds not only that of televisions, but also mundane everyday items such as toothbrushes.

                                  • Milan
                                    • 4 November 2013
                                     
                                     

                                    Does Italy’s important industrial sector still have a future?

                                      Participants at this roundtable session were of a consensus that Italy still has an effective industrial system, and may continue to do so as long as a major restructure is undertaken so as to provide a boost for a great swathe of firms that are currently wavering between the boon of opportunities offered by global growth and the risk of being marginalized.

                                    • Rome
                                      • 17 April 2013
                                       
                                       

                                      Electoral reform for Italy

                                        In this national roundtable session devoted to examining the nature of electoral reform required in Italy, the opening premise to the discussions was that modern debate on this issue primarily hinges on a straightforward question, namely: does the state of the electorate directly mirror the prevailing electoral system, or does the latter have little impact on the outcome of elections and associated divisions within the electorate?

                                      • Rome
                                        • 13 November 2013
                                         
                                         

                                        Modernizing Italy’s public administration for people and business

                                          It was noted at this national roundtable discussion that, according to the two most well-known systems for measuring the level of economic freedom existing in a country, the extent to which public authorities function well is a fundamental indicator of the same. Similarly, it is widely acknowledged that in countries where the functioning of the public administration meets the expectations of citizens, people can even be amenable to a high level of taxation.

                                        • Rome
                                          • 18 September 2013
                                           
                                           

                                          Italy’s welfare system: living with risk

                                            At this roundtable session dealing with the future of Italy’s welfare system, the participants observed that tackling the issue of risk management requires the resolution of an evident paradox, namely, that while the risks to which households and firms are exposed are becoming greater in number and increasingly serious, the public resources needed to address them are in ever more limited supply.